Late Nights
by sarabethloves
Summary: Winry wakes up late one night from a terrible nightmare and is having a hard time trying to go back to sleep. Thankfully, a certain former alchemist is there to help her out.


**Quick oneshot for you guys while I work on my other stories! I wrote this one a few months and am finally getting around to actually posting it. Hope you guys like it!**

Winry walked along the familiar gravel road that winded through the countryside. She knew exactly where she was going and what she was going to do when she got there. She had made this particular journey many times before.

She approached the familiar plot of land dotted with large chunks of engraved stone. She opened the swinging gate and navigated the maze of tombstones until she found the two that she was looking for. She gently placed the bouquets of flowers she was holding on each grave and smiled sadly. The names of her brave parents were engraved into the stone that marked where their lifeless bodies lay.

Oh how she missed them. Every day something new happened in her life that she wished she could tell them about. She wished they could see just how well she was doing in the automail industry, she wished they could see how she had grown into a young woman, and, above all else, she wished she could hear them tell her how proud they were of her.

A lone tear dropped from her eye without her permission. She quickly wiped it away, knowing that her parents wouldn't want her to dwell in her sadness. Instead they would want her to live her life to the fullest, something she struggled with more and more every day.

The storm clouds rolled in above the small country town nestled into the southern hills of Amestris. Winry felt a drop of rain hit her cheek, which was immediately followed by more and more drops until a steady rain had begun. She didn't care that she was drenched. She wanted to spend as much time with her deceased parents as she could.

Something flashed in the sky, alerting Winry that she would be safer if she went on home. As she turned to do just that, she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. Two new tombstones had been placed at the edge of the graveyard.

_That's weird. I don't remember anyone dying recently, _she thought to herself. Living in such a small town meant that if someone had passed, she would've already heard about it.

She walked over to the two new stones, curious as to who had died. When she came to the stones and read the engraved names, her heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach.

_No…this can't be!_

Edward Elric

1899-1914

Alphonse Elric

1900-1914

Winry's breathing became rapid as she stared at the two tombstones. She had just seen the brothers last week. They had come home to repair Ed's automail. They were just there! How could they be dead? Why didn't anyone tell her? How had they had a funeral and buried them without her knowing?

Winry's knees felt weak and she crumbled to the ground as she felt her world crashing around her. She couldn't live without them. What was she going to do now that they were no longer there? The tears flowed freely from her eyes as she choked out her sobs.

_What do I have to live for now?_

Winry's eyes shot open and she jolted up from her bed in her house in Resembool. Sweat covered her body and she was forced to take deep breaths to try and calm herself.

_It was just a dream_. _Ed and Al are both sleeping in their beds right across the hall. Everything's all right. They're not dead. _

Despite the reassuring words she kept repeating over and over to herself, she couldn't shake the twisted feeling in her stomach.

This had not been the first time she had had that particular dream. Multiple times over the past few years she had woken up terrified thinking that two of the closest people in her life were dead. Every time she had the dream, she woke up with that terrible feeling she had felt when her parents had died. It was the feeling of absolute hopelessness and loss.

She tried to shake the image of those two ominous graves, but she couldn't stop picturing it. Knowing that there was no other way to calm herself down, Winry got out of bed and tiptoed out of her room to the door across the hallway that led to the brother's room.

She quietly opened the door and peaked through. There they were. Alphonse was sleeping on the bed closest to the window, his hands folded neatly on his stomach and a ghost of a smile on his face. He must be having a dream. Every time Al had a dream, he became blissfully happy. He had to go four years without dreaming and getting to have those wistful moments of imagination again was like heaven to the young alchemist.

Ed, on the other hand, didn't look so peaceful. He was lying on his stomach, his body splayed out across the bed. The blanket he was using was haphazardly draped across him, exposing his automail leg. His mouth was wide open, allowing a nice puddle of drool to accumulate on his pillow. Winry shook her head at him. Ed was never a real graceful sleeper.

_They're all right. They're just sleeping. There's nothing to worry about. _

Getting to see the brothers helped calm Winry's racing heartbeat. She sighed as she leaned her head against the door and watched them.

Why did she keep having that dream? The thought of the Elric brothers dying was too much to even think about. Yet she still kept having that reoccurring nightmare that left her completely terrified.

After Winry had determined that the brothers were alive and well, she tiptoed out of their room and closed the door behind her. She didn't feel like going to sleep, especially considering she might have the dream again, so she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to warm up some milk.

After she had prepared the milk and poured it into a mug, she sat on the table in the kitchen and quietly sipped her drink, trying to think of happier thoughts. She replayed the memory of when Ed and Al had come home with their bodies back (or at least most of their bodies back) and the time when the three of them had gone to the river for a picnic day last week.

No matter how hard she tried though, she couldn't shake the image of the tombstones and she just knew that it would be impossible to go back to sleep. She grabbed her automail sketchbook and began working on some new designs.

After she had been working for about an hour, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and looked up just in time to see Edward Elric himself walk through the door and into the kitchen. He was rubbing his eyes sleepily and trying to stifle a yawn. It was obvious he had just woken up.

"What are you doing down here, Win?" he asked her groggily, his eyes squinting at the light. Despite how tired he looked, he sat down across from her at the table.

"The real question is what are _you_ doing down here, Ed?" she countered.

Ed shrugged his shoulders and answered. "I had to go to the bathroom and when I came back I noticed a light was on. What about you?"

Winry avoided his gaze and looked down at her sketchbook. "Couldn't sleep."

"Why?"

"Bad dream," she admitted sheepishly as she fiddled with the strap holding her robe together.

Ed looked at her in concern. He knew all too well what it was like to wake up in the middle of the night from a bad dream. He had had plenty of them in his lifetime. "You want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not really," she responded quietly.

"Okay," he said, unsure of what to do next. It was obvious she was upset about whatever it was she dreamed of, but he didn't know what to say to make her feel better. As the two lapsed into silence, Ed noticed the mug that was sitting on the table and his nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Why are you drinking milk?" he asked with a scowl.

Winry looked up at him and smirked. Leave it to Ed to break the tension like that. "Warm milk makes you sleepy. You would know that if you actually drank it."

"Ugh, gross. Cold milk is bad enough. Why would you want to heat it up?"

Winry lightly laughed at him. "Because not everyone has a burning hatred for milk, Ed. People drink it warm all the time."

"They're all crazy," he said.

She laughed a good, hearty laugh, which made Ed smile. He loved it when she laughed and he was happy that, at least for the moment, she was okay.

"What are you working on?" he asked her.

"Just some new designs. I'm trying to replicate that colder weather model I made you back in Briggs for some of my customers here. It's not cold here obviously, but I think they would all appreciate the lighter design."

As Winry told Ed more about the new designs, she began to feel much better. Just being with Ed and talking to him calmed her down.

After a while, Ed could tell that Winry was getting tired. She tried to sneak a few yawns but he caught her every time. Eventually, he persuaded her to come back upstairs with him. They ascended the stairs together and then each went to their respective doors.

Before Ed could enter his room, however, Winry's quiet voice stopped him.

"Hey Ed?" she asked timidly, her face turned toward her door, purposely avoiding looking at her best friend.

"Yeah?" he answered curiously.

It was silent a moment as Winry looked to be in deep thought. Finally she voiced the thought that had crossed her mind multiple times throughout the night. "D-do you think you could c-come with m-me?" she stuttered, her face burning red.

"Come with you where?" Ed asked, clueless as ever.

"To…my…room," she forced out. She couldn't believe she was even asking him this.

"Why?" he asked, still looking confused. She sighed at him. _Clueless dork_.

"I just…don't think I can be alone tonight, Ed."

It looked as though a light bulb had just flicked on in his head because his mouth gaped open in understanding. His cheeks also turned a bright red as he realized just what she was asking him.

"Oh…uh…you want me to…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Sleep with me," she finished for him. His eyes widened when she said that and she too got even redder when she realized how that must've sounded. "No! Not like that. I mean…just…sleep," she said as her eyes desperately tried to look at anything else besides the former alchemist.

"Oh…uh…I guess I could do that," he answered timidly, also avoiding eye contact.

"Thanks. I just know that if you're not there then I'll have that dream again and I don't think I can…" her eyes began to get watery before she could finish as she tried to keep the droplets from leaking out.

Ed saw this and quickly tried to comfort her. He hated it when she cried. "It's fine, Win. I get it," he said reassuringly as he opened the door to her room and closed it after she timidly stepped through.

Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Ed tried to do his best to show his friend he could be there for her. Obviously whatever dream had been plaguing her was greatly troubling and he was determined to do whatever she needed him to do to make her feel safe.

He rolled up the covers of her bed, trying to push the thought that this wasn't exactly how he had pictured sleeping with Winry Rockbell for the first time away, and laid down next to her. She didn't cuddle up next to him and he didn't offer to do so either. They just laid down staring up at the ceiling, their minds both racing.

After a few minutes, Winry began to realize how ridiculous she was being and relaxed. Ed did too, it seemed, because eventually she heard the steady sounds of his breathing slow to where she knew he was asleep. Knowing that he wasn't awake to take notice, she scooted a little bit closer and turned on her side so she was facing him. As she yet again watched Edward Elric sleep with his long hair splayed out on the pillow and his mouth slightly opened, she smiled in contentment. She also noticed that her room began to smell like him too, which was even more of a comfort to her. She couldn't really explain it, but his smell reminded her of home and it instantly made her feel safe.

Eventually, the tiredness overtook her too and her eyes began to droop. As she faded into sleep, she couldn't help but think that she could get used to falling asleep next to this man, in all of his over exaggerated ridiculousness. Despite his snoring, drooling, and kicking (as Winry would later learn he did quite a lot), there was no one else in the entire world that she would rather sleep next to.


End file.
